(Mohegan Sun) St. Joseph's, Wed. Dec. 20, 4:30p, ESPN U, 970 AM

Positives and negatives aside, when was the last time an SJU team got through pre-conference play unscathed? In recent years felt like, at a minimum, the UCF, Grand Canyon, Iona, and St. Joe's games would have been 2-2. This year it's 4-0. That really matters as for team like ours, that is unlikely to win 14 conference games, if we don't accumulate enough OOC wins we just won't be in position. So any slip up games feel magnified. This team avoided slip ups and largely as a result of that is squarely in position, about as good as we could have reasonably expected going into Big East play. Have to be thrilled with that.

Still plenty of room for improvement, especially on offensive end, and in some ways that's encouraging as still think there is some upside in this team. At a minimum should help offset some of the defensive regression likely to be a product of playing better teams more consistently in conference play. Lovett helps quite a bit of that obviously.

Like this team's grit. Ponds, Simon, Clark, Owens have all shown at different times simple desire to get to winner's circle each time out and have made plays in big spots to get us there. Tough to teach that. Coupled with the turnaround defensively - which just the effort alone has been impressive over last year, let alone the results - very optimistic about this team in conference play. Don't think 11-7 is an unreasonable upside goal, 10-8 should keep us well in position given how our metrics seem to be pointing, don't think they can go worse than 9-9 on a number of levels. Would be great to get at least 1 from Nova, Xavier, or SHU so that there isn't a complete lack of "signature" wins in the event the Committee is interested in that narrative.

Fun team to watch and easy team to root for.
 
I do not post much but have been a fan for over 35 years ---check this site at least 3 times a day. Live in Florida for the last 7 years and have never missed a game in those years . Traveled to The Bahamas last year, was at all game in Orlando this year. It drives me crazy when FANS beat up on Chris and the players . I stopped posting several years ago when I posted that JR was hurt in practice and was out for the year two days before it was made public .FANS beat me to death for spreading rumors I knew it as fact due to a relative working for the team ..never posted another fact..

If anyone here does not see the improvement in this teams defense and offensive sets -No one can help them --does it make me crazy when I see Bashir with the ball YES!!! but he does always hustle and fights.

We complain about a big man--but remember we did take a shot at a 7 footer who decided to rob a 7-11 ..

Most of all Watch Chris --He made himself a pro hall of fame player, fought through his own demons through hard work --Remember what Louie always said abut Chris --He cant jump, he cant run, he is not a great athlete but he is a winner. Can you say you have not seen him improve as a coach ?? The players believe in him and he in them --Lets hand in there and be true REDMEN!

Merry Christmas
 
Let me start out by saying I am happy where we are right now at 10-2. Looks like we are playing harder on defense this year. Although, at times we still lose shooters too often. Yesterday, for example the Italian kid was left standing wide open on multiple occasions. We need to identify the threats and stick with them.

I think some of the inability for some fans to warm to this team completely has several reasons:

1- We have shown stretches before and then faded during conference play. Be honest, this roster has little depth. One unfortunate injury and in BE play we would be in trouble. Fouls will be another factor. The ASU game we had a couple of key players in foul trouble. Next man up is thin.
2- Its great the teams we have beaten so far. However, I am not sure we have beaten anyone we shouldn't have beaten. We have losses to Missouri (w/out Porter) and ASU (winnable but the flaws we suspected were there). Key wins against Oregon State, Nebraska, Central Florida and St. Joe's. All good but, all would be middle to low BE squads.
3- The team still plays wildly almost recklessly on offense at times. Decision making is questionable. Shots that are flung at the basket with no chance, long range 3's early in the shot clock, charging into the lane and committing silly offensive fouls, wild passes (did anyone see Owen's pass up 5 with 40 seconds to play-if I remember correctly). I have hope that this is a young team and this can be corrected.

Again, happy where we are but much tougher tests lie ahead. Ongoing improvement will be needed to get where we want to go.

 
St John's turnout was much stronger than St Joe's. I thought it was pretty good for a workday.

The handful of negative posts from the same old farts on this board are as predictable as seeing our big east friends from Providence rooting against us last night.

Glad to see Paultzman and others pointing out the strides this team is making o
from year to year.

Glad to see our players gut out a win last night. The talent and effort put forth during this preseason has placed them in a good position.

 
OLV72
nice observations - our progress and bright future = reality not fake news :)
Thanks for sharing - must have been a fun game especially the ending!
Always nice to win - especially on the road - no matter the drama or "ugly" choreography/play :)
all the best
 
Nice observations but I will take this record AND handling those "middle to bottom" big east teams you refer to - we don't have to win them all or win against the big boys (Villanova and Xavier) to have a successful campaign and possible post season activity :)
looking forward to how this plays out - the adventure of sports and its uncertain outcomes.

I do hope Trimble and Yakwe evolve - that would be a big addition - we shall see
 
"The handful of negative posts from the same old farts on this board..."

Name calling? Hey you disagree with someone fine. Do you really need to characterize someone because of it?

Whoever you are calling out probably has been a supporter a long time and still cares enough to come around. They are just expressing a opinion whether you, I or anyone else likes it.
 
Providence is 59 miles and one hour from Mohegan Sun. St. Johns is twice as far, and with moderate traffic can take 4 hours or more. It's well documented that we have an older fan base. The only thing that corrects that is winning. Students typically don't follow losing teams. My son is at BC, and attendance is abysmal unless they play Duke, Syracuse, or UNC.

At CA, in recent years ALL fans in general have been louder than in the past. Students nearly fill the sections behind the baskets and hose who come enthusiastically support the team.
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Wow the students nearly fill the couple of hundred seats behind the baskets out of a pool of what 15 to 18,000 students. What tremendous support. Sorry if this upsets the peaches and cream portion of our fanbase.
 
Clearly this team has thus far exceeded expectations defensively, has managed to win in face of short roster & key injury & for most part is fun to watch.

Prognosis - Should at least go .500 in an extremely competitive conference if they avoid injuries of consequence for prolonged periods. Winning a game in BE Tourney is in reach. With a seven man rotation & key guys playing max minutes, I expect some stumbles in tough portions of schedule with frequent games. To me, warts & all, this team has some very talented players, seemingly decent chemistry & an improved staff especially on the defensive end.

Win some attention getting contests v top BE teams, finish in top 5 or 6 & program will be more appealing to recruits. I am not settling, but winning 18 or 19 games, avoiding "same old St. John's" frustration works for me. Obviously staff has to take a hit for having such a short roster, but it is what it is. Expecting great results like Nova, Xavier programs at this point seems crazy. Enjoy being in the conversation for first time in a while.
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Winning a game in the BET is a reach? If we finish fifth or sixth we play the third or fourth seed at MSG and that's a reach? That's setting the bar pretty low. Not saying we should win but wouldn't call it a reach more like 50-50.
 
Great to read positive comments here. At full strength we will be formidable, and a great chance for an at large bid.

Simon is an absolute steal, and because of his size, if he becomes more of an offensive force could be more of an NBA prospect than either Ponds or Lovett. Relieving those 2 of the burden of running the offense is a huge plus.

Clark is another solid addition. Ok, he isn't Charles Barkley, but from what I see his best days are ahead.

The staff hasn't given up on Yakwe, and I really feel that there will be some games this year where as a bigger forward he will contribute mightily to a couple of BE wins.

Man, I don't think there is anything more satisfying than watching spectacular blocks in basketball. Unlike Obekpa, who lost his man frequently while chasing blocks, Owens is an asset on defense even without blocks.

Ponds without Lovett allows defenses to key on him. Very good teams need three weapons, so with Lovett on the court, we are obviously that much better.

It took Mullin just three seasons to get back to the talent level Lavin had in his final year. Unlike Lavin, though, Mullin will not be satisfied with moderate success. Neither will Matt, St. Jean, or Richmond. The ceiling is raised considerably,
 
Providence is 59 miles and one hour from Mohegan Sun. St. Johns is twice as far, and with moderate traffic can take 4 hours or more. It's well documented that we have an older fan base. The only thing that corrects that is winning. Students typically don't follow losing teams. My son is at BC, and attendance is abysmal unless they play Duke, Syracuse, or UNC.

At CA, in recent years ALL fans in general have been louder than in the past. Students nearly fill the sections behind the baskets and hose who come enthusiastically support the team.
Click to expand...
Wow the students nearly fill the couple of hundred seats behind the baskets out of a pool of what 15 to 18,000 students. What tremendous support. Sorry if this upsets the peaches and cream portion of our fanbase.
Click to expand...

C'mon. no one is confusing that type of support with Cameron Field House. What I am saying is that despite the fact that these students have no experience with an SJU team winning, there is a loyal, vocal following. I just hope the school has a mechanism to reward these kids with first-in-line tickets for when success comes.
 
Philadelphia Inquirer

UNCASVILLE, CONN. - St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli had figured out how the Hawks could compete with St. John's on Wednesday in the Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at the Mohegan Sun Arena. And they got half of it right.

"The formula was no turnovers and [allowing] no offensive rebounds," Martelli said after the Hawks' 77-73 loss to St. John's (10-2). "We did a wonderful job on the glass, outrebounding a team that is bigger and more athletic [48-36]. We did a great job there, but we're sitting here with 19 turnovers and only six steals [by St. John's], so that means there were 13 walks and balls thrown out of bounds."

St. Joseph's (5-6), which entered the game second in the nation in fewest turnovers (8.7 per game), committed a season-high 19. The Hawks' Shavar Newkirk scored a season-high 26 points and Pierfrancesco Oliva had a career-high 18 rebounds.
 
Clearly this team has thus far exceeded expectations defensively, has managed to win in face of short roster & key injury & for most part is fun to watch.

Prognosis - Should at least go .500 in an extremely competitive conference if they avoid injuries of consequence for prolonged periods. Winning a game in BE Tourney is in reach. With a seven man rotation & key guys playing max minutes, I expect some stumbles in tough portions of schedule with frequent games. To me, warts & all, this team has some very talented players, seemingly decent chemistry & an improved staff especially on the defensive end.

Win some attention getting contests v top BE teams, finish in top 5 or 6 & program will be more appealing to recruits. I am not settling, but winning 18 or 19 games, avoiding "same old St. John's" frustration works for me. Obviously staff has to take a hit for having such a short roster, but it is what it is. Expecting great results like Nova, Xavier programs at this point seems crazy. Enjoy being in the conversation for first time in a while.
Click to expand...
Winning a game in the BET is a reach? If we finish fifth or sixth we play the third or fourth seed at MSG and that's a reach? That's setting the bar pretty low. Not saying we should win but wouldn't call it a reach more like 50-50.
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Said "in reach" not "a reach"
 
Sorry for the lateness of the highlights, but I literally just got back from Mohegan Sun. Great trip, made extra special by the St. John's win (which more then made up for the $25 I lost in the casino).

 
I'm thinking we can win 'home and away' games with DePaul, G*Town, Marquette, and home games (including MSG) versus Creighton, Butler, Providence, maybe Seton Hall. And win 1 in the BE Tournament. That's 10 - 11 total Big East Wins for a 20 - 21 win total versus a total of 11 - 12 total losses. This presumes we get Marcus back no later than the G*Town game in MSG on 1/9/18. I'm praying we can beat both Providence and DePaul at CA, sans Marcus. (Beating Providence on 12/28 without Marcus might be a stretch.)
My happy crystal ball is also predicated on the hope we have no other major lingering issues in our 7-man rotation.
Let's go Redmen!
 
Thanks for the highlights, SJU61982. Some nice shots of how effective Ahmed can be when he drives to the basket under control. If he and Simon can just get their free throw percentage around 70% rather than 60%, it can be a happy new year!
 
Sorry for the lateness of the highlights, but I literally just got back from Mohegan Sun. Great trip, made extra special by the St. John's win (which more then made up for the $25 I lost in the casino).

[/quote

Thanks SJU61982. Great clips! Damn, we went ahead 'for good' with 2+ minutes to go. Let them stay with us the whole game...about!
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Providence is 59 miles and one hour from Mohegan Sun. St. Johns is twice as far, and with moderate traffic can take 4 hours or more. It's well documented that we have an older fan base. The only thing that corrects that is winning. Students typically don't follow losing teams. My son is at BC, and attendance is abysmal unless they play Duke, Syracuse, or UNC.

At CA, in recent years ALL fans in general have been louder than in the past. Students nearly fill the sections behind the baskets and hose who come enthusiastically support the team.
Click to expand...
Wow the students nearly fill the couple of hundred seats behind the baskets out of a pool of what 15 to 18,000 students. What tremendous support. Sorry if this upsets the peaches and cream portion of our fanbase.
Click to expand...

C'mon. no one is confusing that type of support with Cameron Field House. What I am saying is that despite the fact that these students have no experience with an SJU team winning, there is a loyal, vocal following. I just hope the school has a mechanism to reward these kids with first-in-line tickets for when success comes.
Click to expand...

You said it Beast. Winning teams get people talking, get media coverage, get more people talking, and generate excitement over the team. That gets student fannies in the seats.
 

Agree completely with your prognosis I too would like to win 10 in conference but thats not thinking realistically. To date we whave not been shooting the ball well This was suppose to be our strong point Pond is a very good ballplayer he was suppose to be hitting threes at a better rate but he does a lot of things to put points on the board. WITH the lack of a face up forward and a center who has little moves around the basket and foul shooting we cab only go so far. But who knows if we put good games together and our offense wakes up we might just make the dance We will know after the first 5 games
 
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